Andrew Dodson | Booth Mid-MichiganThe Bay Area Community Foundation is partnering with Dow Chemical for a new charity program that starts this spring.

MIDLAND — A new charity program sponsored by Dow Chemical Co. is inviting area students to pay it forward in exchange for grant awards of up to $1,000.

The program, a component of DowGives called communityGivesjbaker 3/24/11 CQ, offers up to $150,000 annually to help K-12 student groups, sports teams and community service clubs earn $500 or $1,000 grants in exchange for doing volunteer work.

“Our goal is to promote regionalism and volunteerism,” said Rob Vallentine, public affairs director for Dow. “With this program, our community’s youth can pay it forward and really make an impact.”

The program will work through community foundations in Bay, Midland and Saginaw counties.

Eileen Curtis, chief executive officer of the Bay Area Community Foundation, said the program is the first of its kind at the foundation allowing student-aged groups to earn “mini-grants.”

“Before, you had to go through a long grant process, and normally those grants were $2,000 and above,” said Curtis.

In order to receive a grant, the applying student group must complete a project consisting of 50 total volunteer hours that impacts their community. Groups seeking a $1,000 grant must complete a project that affects the entire Great Lakes Bay Region.

“The idea is to engage youth in our community and get positive benefits for the community,” said Curtis.

Applications are available at the Bay, Midland and Saginaw community foundations and can be found on their respective websites.

There are 80 $500 grants and 10 $1,000 grants initially available per county, and applications will be considered twice each year. Dow is providing the funding for the program. The first deadline to apply is April 15.

“We’re quite excited about this new program and feel it will be a major component of expanding regionalism and volunteerism,” said Vallentine.